Trying to help a friend

[bway21]

A friend of mine has been married for 8 years and is in process to get her husband a visa. He has been living and working in the US for more than 20 years, and is now in process for his visa. They filed the I-130 in Nov. 5, 2002 and received approval Aug 28, 2003. Their lawyer has moved on and left them with no further advice on what to do next. They have been waiting to hear from NVC for the last 3 years. Now what??? Any information on this process would be appreciated. Thanks.

[yandresyuk]

you really have to give more info, as to the basis of the filing... is your friend a USC and filing for her husband???

[bway21]

Yes, my friend is a USC. She was born in CA, and is trying to file for her husband of 6 years. The only information I have is copies of letters their lawyer had filed.
I-130 Petition of USC on behalf of her husband (11-5-2002); 2 letters in response for additional information(6-25-03 same dates) ; and I-130 Approval Notice(9-3-04).
I know very little about this process and am trying to help her. They don't really have the money to find another lawyer. How necessary is it to have one? Can you complete this process without one?

[curiousone]

Yes, my friend is a USC. She was born in CA, and is trying to file for her husband of 6 years. The only information I have is copies of letters their lawyer had filed.
I-130 Petition of USC on behalf of her husband (11-5-2002); 2 letters in response for additional information(6-25-03 same dates) ; and I-130 Approval Notice(9-3-04).
I know very little about this process and am trying to help her. They don't really have the money to find another lawyer. How necessary is it to have one? Can you complete this process without one?

Yes , they can . whether they should depends on the circumstances. The husband is in the US right? How did he enter? with a Visa or not? if he entered with a Visa then all he has to do is file a I-485 along with a copy of the approved I-130 and documentation proving the marriage as well as his birth certificate. If he didnt enter the US with a Visa.......then thats a whole different process

[bway21]

My friends husband did not enter with a visa. He has been living in the US since he was a child. He came from Mexico with his family when he was a child, and has been living here since. He does work and pay taxes, but he does not have a real ssn.
What is an I-130 approval do? He got his 130 approval letter in 2004, and to my understanding all he had to do was wait for a number. What eles do you do, or what is the next step for them to take? They have asked that I help, since not even the paperwork I read makes any sense to them. But I don't know where to tell them to go (they can't afford to get a laywer).

[curiousone]

My friends husband did not enter with a visa. He has been living in the US since he was a child. He came from Mexico with his family when he was a child, and has been living here since. He does work and pay taxes, but he does not have a real ssn.
What is an I-130 approval do? He got his 130 approval letter in 2004, and to my understanding all he had to do was wait for a number. What eles do you do, or what is the next step for them to take? They have asked that I help, since not even the paperwork I read makes any sense to them. But I don't know where to tell them to go (they can't afford to get a laywer).

Your friend entered as an EWI ( entered without inspection) and that changes everyhting. That makes him ineligible to adjust his status here ( change from nonimmigrant to immigrant) That he has been here for over 20 years and pays taxes does not change that fact.............the only exception would have been if his wife had filed the I-130 prior to April 30, 2001 and pay a$1000.00 penalty. Since she didnt then all he can do now is to wait on the Consulate in mexico to send him the interview notice. By the way, The wait time that he is experiecing is not uncommon for mexico...

So before you ask, Yes, he MUST go to Mexico for the interview. There is , as of today, no other way around it. When he goes, as a matter of procedure, he will be denied a visa ( because he entered illegally and overstayed) he then will have to submit a request for a waiver of ineligibility for admission and that is where he needs help............... whether or not hes a candidate for a waiver depends on many factors....but mainly that his absence would cause extreme hardship ( not financial) to a US citizen spouse, child, or parent. ...but it will come down to how the request for the waiver is written and his personal circumsatnces. While I'm sure some do not get it, many people do get it and many do it without a lawyer but one has to be familiar with the process and know what they're doing. While the waiver is pending however , unfortuantely he would have to wait in Mexico ( 9 mths -2 yrs) ..If he reenters the US illegally and is caught, then he would have to forget about it....

If they cannot afford an attorney, they're many many immigration services in CA ( not sure why I do, but I'm assuming he lives in CA) that will help at a very minimum cost. [I]Catholic Charities[/I( thats the name of the org) ] has a very good immigration clinic and almost all the law schools have one too.....

[bway21]

I had my friend call some national helpline I had found online, to check status on her husband's papers. They told her she was approved 10-10-03. I believe she meant about I-130. They told her to submit form I-824 to request further action on her petition. I'm about to send her this form for her to fill out, but why would they approve and attempt to continue this process w/o making her husband leave the US, and at what point would he have to leave? And what would be considered extreme hardship other than financial? He is the only provider for his family. My friend hasn't worked in years.

She also says that his sister (whom he no longer speaks to) was caught crossing into the US, finger-printed, and sent back, then came over again w/o getting caught, and she got her papers completed in about 2 years. She supposedly filed after he did, but was still processed in 2 years and is a perm. res. Supposedly all done w/o seeing the consul in mexico.They want to know how that is possible when they have never been in trouble, yet it is taking so long. I'm assuming she had the help of a reallly good lawyer who knows all the ins and outs of the system.

(My apologies for this being so long)

[curiousone]

I had my friend call some national helpline I had found online, to check status on her husband's papers. They told her she was approved 10-10-03. I believe she meant about I-130. They told her to submit form I-824 to request further action on her petition. I'm about to send her this form for her to fill out, but why would they approve and attempt to continue this process w/o making her husband leave the US, and at what point would he have to leave? And what would be considered extreme hardship other than financial? He is the only provider for his family. My friend hasn't worked in years.

She also says that his sister (whom he no longer speaks to) was caught crossing into the US, finger-printed, and sent back, then came over again w/o getting caught, and she got her papers completed in about 2 years. She supposedly filed after he did, but was still processed in 2 years and is a perm. res. Supposedly all done w/o seeing the consul in mexico.They want to know how that is possible when they have never been in trouble, yet it is taking so long. I'm assuming she had the help of a reallly good lawyer who knows all the ins and outs of the system.

(My apologies for this being so long)

I. Why would they approve the I-130 and he has to leave?............Getting a green card is atwo step process.
(i) The I-130 is a petition to classify the alien ( husband) as a relative
(ii) The I-485 is for the alien relative to adjust his status from non-immigrant to immigrant, without leaving the US.
His marriage to a USC or GC holder makes the petition approvable. He however cannot proceed to the next step, while in the US, because he entered illegally. For that reason, he has to go to Mexico. A person who entered leaggly could, if they want to, simply fil e a I-130 without the I-485 and it would still be approved if everyhting is O.K. they are two separate applications and he would have to ahve an approved I-130 to go the Embassy.

The next step that USCIS would take and which hopefully the filing of the I-824 would provoke, would be for them to send the approved I-130 to NVC ( Vational Visa Center) which would in turn contact your friends and then they would be sent packets to complete. In short, the process would be the same as if he were living in Mexico and his wife filed for him in the US. However unlike an ordinary applicant whose USC spouse/parent/child file dofr him, your friend's illegal entry makes him ineligible for an immigrant visa here or abroad, ( adjustment of status) unless he applies for and receives a waiver of that ineligibility, which if granted, allows him to receive it abroad.

2. His sister. The only way she could have tried to enter, got caught and was still able to adjust here would be if she had a petition filed on her behalf before April 30, 2001. That's the only way ( in short, there was a law granting amesty to persons who had enetred illegally allowing them to remain here and adjust their status. The law expired on that date) All she might have is an approved I-130 but I can guarantee you that if she in fact filed after that date and didnt leave the US, then she doesn't have a Green Card. She couldn't.....even with a good lawyer.....and even if she wasnt caught crossing the border.

3. While One's criminal records prevents one from getting a Green Card, a lack of one does NOT help in the process.

4. Mexico and Phillipines have one of the longest wait in the immigration process. Do the I-824.

5. He would go to Mexico when he's conatcted with an interview date by the consulate there.

6. There are many other types of hardships.....emotional, sickness, he has no family in mexico, how many children he has, their ages, if any has special needs, how long he has been living here, the fact that his wife has not worked in years and is perhaps unprepared to enter the workforce..a host of other factors of which financial is one but cannot be the only one......and how those are presented will dictate how good a chance he has.

He definitely needs help in writing the waiver request but youre not even at that stage as yet. Cross that bridge when you get to it but he WILL have to leave,.......unless the new law is passed and there's soemthing in there to help him.

It really is not that hard to understand if one gives it some thought. If all one had to do to get a Green Card was to not break the ( criminal) law here and work and pay taxes, then do you think so many would still be living here illegally?. .....to believe so would mean that there are no consequences for breaking immigration law............we all know that can't be true........there are people living here for 10-20 yrs without legal status...becasue they either came in without a visa or their visa expired before they could change their status. Your friend's case is hardly unique, however unfortunate it might be.